According to historical records, many famous emperors and generals in Western history suffered from gout, such as Julius Caesar and Louis VII, so gout was also called “emperor’s disease”. According to the analysis report of the China Center for Disease and Health Survey in 2004, due to the improvement of modern living standards, people consume too much purine-rich meat, alcohol and other foods, the gout of the past is no longer the patent of the emperors. According to statistics, the number of patients with hyperuricemia in China has reached 120 million, including more than 75 million gout patients, and is rapidly increasing at an annual growth rate of 9.7%. Gout has become the second largest metabolic disease in China after diabetes.
The culprit is high uric acid
Gout is a disorder of purine metabolism in the body, resulting in a surge of uric acid, a waste product of purine metabolism, in the blood and the precipitation of uric acid stones, which damages the joints, organs and other tissues of the body and causes gouty arthritis, gouty kidney disease and gouty heart disease.
In a normal human body, uric acid is produced every day, and an equal amount of uric acid is excreted to maintain a balanced state. Due to the excessive pressure of modern life, while working late and living irregularly, and also addicted to smoking and alcohol, over time, resulting in an acid-base imbalance in the body, increasing the concentration of uric acid, and thus the formation of gout. Unhealthy diet, such as eating high purine foods (meat, seafood, animal offal, thick broth, etc.), drinking alcohol (beer, liquor) and strenuous exercise can all increase blood uric acid.
What are the characteristics of a gout attack?
Acute gouty arthritis attacks are not preceded by any aura. Mild trauma, overeating high purine foods or excessive alcohol consumption, surgery, fatigue, emotional stress, and medical emergencies (e.g., infection, vascular obstruction) can cause an acute attack of gout.
Nocturnal attacks Acute mono- or polyarticular pain that often strikes at night is usually the first symptom, with progressive and severe pain. Similar to an acute infection, localized fever, redness, swelling, and tenderness are evident. The local skin is tense, shiny, and dark red or purplish in appearance.
Foot gout is most common in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe (foot gout), with the arch, ankle, knee, wrist and elbow joints also being common sites of onset. Systemic manifestations include fever, palpitations, and general discomfort.
Keep away from gout by mastering the “3-3 system”
Lifestyle changes are the key to treating hyperuricemia and keeping away from gout, including healthy diet, smoking cessation, exercise and weight control. The key is to control the “mouth” and weight, and the diet has the following three major principles.
Three low
1, choose low purine food: although it is recommended to choose low purine food, but does not advocate long-term strict purine dietary restrictions, the acute phase of the gout attack purine intake control within 150 mg / day, which will help to improve the effectiveness of drugs, as soon as possible to terminate the symptoms of acute gout.
2. Choose foods with less purine in the acute period: milk and its products, eggs, vegetables, fruits and fine grains.
3. In the remission period, you can use moderate purine food: no more than 120g/day of meat.
Three taboos
1, avoid drinking alcohol (especially beer) because beer contains a lot of purines, gout acute attack is often related to the cause of drinking.
2, avoid taking drugs that reduce uric acid excretion most commonly diuretics, such as tachyuria and dihydrocoumaric acid, etc.
3, avoid obesity to limit the total calories, maintain the appropriate weight, high-calorie, high-protein foods often contain more purines.
Three more
1, drink more water: it is best to maintain more than 1.5 to 2 liters of liquid intake per day, with kidney stones is best to reach 3 liters, in order to increase uric acid excretion.
2, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables: eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, can reduce the formation of gout stones; watermelon, winter melon is alkaline food, and has a diuretic effect, effective in relieving gout.
3, more activity: the purpose is to control weight. Generally speaking, it is advisable to choose walking, jogging, tai chi and other forms of exercise for the elderly. When gout attacks, it is not advisable to exercise, so as not to aggravate the symptoms.